As we reported earlier, Assembly Bill 693 has been scheduled for public hearing before the Assembly Committee on Judiciary on Thursday, January 11th at 9:00 am in Room 417 North, State Capitol. The bill has 16 Assembly Republican co-sponsors and no Senate sponsors. The SAA strongly opposes the bill.

We urge SAA members to take action now! Please contact your legislators and ask them to oppose AB 693.

In your communication please consider using the talking points listed below as well as any of your own concerns about the bill based on your experiences and expertise.

Talking Points:

While we greatly appreciate the school mental health initiatives in the 2017-19 state budget, everyone involved recognizes that Wisconsin must do more to meet the needs of the growing number of students with significant mental health challenges. These challenges may contribute to volatile student behaviors that requires appropriate intervention and support.

The bill expands mandatory reporting to law enforcement to include physical assaults which, in some cases, would remove a school district’s discretion to act in the best interest of the child.

The bill expands the circle of access to certain juvenile records and risks infringement of the privacy rights of students.

The bill empowers teachers to take actions against students (suspension, class removal) that may not conform to school board policies nor the normal chain of command in a school setting.

Delegating the right and duty to suspend students to individual teachers will result in inconsistent expectations and consequences for students.

Evidence suggests that legislation like this will likely affect students of color disproportionately and raises numerous legal and policy issues regarding the impact on students with disabilities.

Teachers and school board members are not trained to administer this level of discipline, communicate it to parents, or collaborate with community resources around these issues.

Contrary to our philosophy and the Wisconsin tradition, this bill emphasizes the rights of certain adults working in schools above the best interests of students.